Here’s how much Texas candidates raised in the state’s hottest U.S. House primaries

For many Texas congressional races, Wednesday was the most consequential day yet on the primary calendar.

That was the deadline for U.S. House and Senate campaigns to file finance reports covering the last three months of 2017. Those watching the races closely are sure to pore over the mishmash of donations and expenditures to separate viable candidates from the long shots.

And that weeding out process could be more intense than past years. Of the eight Texans in Congress who are not running for re-election, six waited until the fall to announce their decisions, prompting late scrambles for those open seats.

Over in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was easily outraised by his leading Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso.

Texas is hosting the first statewide primaries of 2018 on March 6. Early voting begins on Feb. 20.

Here are what candidates in some of the state’s hottest U.S. House primary races are reporting:

U.S. House, District 2 (Republican)

U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, is retiring. Nine Republicans are competing for the party nomination to succeed him in the historically conservative district. Five Democrats are also running for the seat. Kathaleen Wall, the longtime GOP donor and activist, towered over the primary field with over $2.7 million raised, almost all of it out of her pocket. Houston State Rep. Kevin Roberts raised the most from other people — $260,000 — and then loaned himself $270,000. Businessman Rick Walker also loaned himself a big amount — $300,000 — as he took in $67,000 in contributions.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
RKathaleen Wall$2,744,693$2,310,335
RKevin Roberts261,311444,624
RDan Crenshaw82,36874,074
RRick Walker67,492253,870
RJonny Havens31,91694,756
RJon Spiers31,05539,689
RDavid Balat8,90283,186
RMalcolm Whittaker4,2351,021
RJustin L. Lurie0-181

U.S. House, District 5 (Republican)

Eight Republicans are running to succeed U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas, who is retiring. One Democrat, Dan Woods, is also running. Bunni Pounds, who has Hensarling’s support, has emerged as the fundraising leader in the GOP race, raising $215,000 in a little over a month and reporting $197,000 cash on hand. The other prominent candidates — including state Rep. Lance Gooden, former state Rep. Kenneth Sheets and Jason Wright — didn’t come close to Pounds in either total raised or cash on hand.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
RBunni Pounds$214,840$196,704
RLance Gooden112,15586,342
RKenneth Sheets107,73682,188
RJason Wright95,88494,033
RSam Deen41,27230,177
RDavid WilliamsDid not file
RDanny CampbellDid not file
RCharles LingerfeltDid not file

U.S. House, District 6 (Republican)

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, is retiring. Eleven Republicans are running for the nomination in this district, which is expected to stay in the GOP column. Five Democrats are also running.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
RJ.K. "Jake" Ellzey$68,568$65,694
RShannon Dubberly36,46539,291
RRon Wright24,32121,800
RMark Mitchell1504,313
RShawn Dandridge1946
RTroy RatterreeDid not file
RThomas DillinghamDid not file
RKevin HarrisonDid not file
RKen CopeDid not file
RDeborah GagliardiDid not file
RMel HassellDid not file

U.S. House, District 7 (Democrat)

Seven Democrats are vying for the chance to take on U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston. Culberson also faces a challenger in his Republican primary.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
DAlex Triantaphyllis$258,685$633,709
DLaura Moser214,967329,492
DLizzie Pannill Fletcher200,899437,366
DJason Westin127,501249,656
DJames Cargas16,37112,268
DJoshua A. Butler7,9353,932
DIvan SanchezDid not file

U.S. House, District 16 (Democrat)

U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, is vacating the seat to run for U.S. Senate. Five Democrats are running for the nomination to succeed him in this Democratic-dominated district. Veronica Escobar, the former El Paso County judge, had a strong fundraising quarter, raking in $286,000. Yet Dori Fenenbock, the former El Paso school board president who has been in the race longer, maintains a cash-on-hand advantage, largely due to a $200,000 loan Fenenbock made to herself in the fourth quarter, following a combined $100,000 in personal loans during the two periods before that. Two Republicans are also running for the seat.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
DVeronica Escobar$285,975$401,604
DDori Fenenbock64,591451,127
DEnrique Garcia4,2742,116
DNorma ChavezDid not file
DJohn CarrilloDid not file
DJerome TilghmanDid not file

U.S. House, District 21 (Democrat)

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, is retiring. Democrats see small signs of hope that they might be able to compete for this normally Republican seat in the fall.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
DJoseph Kopser$260,858$337,338
DDerrick Crowe50,96320,339
DElliott McFadden21,33030,997
DMary Street Wilson2,525518

U.S. House, District 21 (Republican)

A crowded, 18-person field is vying for the GOP nomination to succeed Smith.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
RChip Roy$200,211$194,631
RWilliam Negley144,582218,437
RJason Isaac141,471103,612
RJenifer Sarver90,05683,829
RSusan Narvaiz39,04224,210
RRobert Stovall21,62044,119
RMatt McCall20,575105,270
RFoster Hagen13,6850
RAutry J. Pruitt13,166854
RSamuel Temple13,0424,997
RIvan Andarza7,4973,510
RFrancisco "Quico" Canseco7,225131,654
RAnthony J. White4,000576
RRyan Krause757321
RAl M. Poteet350487
RMauro Garza0168
REric BurkhartDid not file
RPeggy WardlawDid not file

U.S. House, District 23 (Democrat)

Five Democrats are competing for the chance to take on U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, in the fall. Hurd also has a Republican challenger.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
DGina Ortiz Jones$213,052$169,463
DJay Hulings210,050281,426
DJudy Canales16,9606,972
DRick Treviño10,7862,777
DAngela "Angie" VillescazDid not file

U.S. House, District 27 (Republican)

U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, is retiring. Six Republicans are running to succeed him in the Republican-leaning district. Four Democrats are also running for the seat.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
RBech Bruun$124,305$119,490
RMichael Cloud44,33532,579
RJohn GrunwaldDid not file
RJerry HallDid not file
REddie GassmanDid not file
RChristopher K. MappDid not file

U.S. House, District 29 (Democrat)

U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, is retiring. Seven Democrats are running to succeed him in this heavily Democratic seat. Four Republicans are also running for the seat.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
DTahir Javed$247,775$552,791
DSylvia R. Garcia201,380209,626
DRoel Garcia11,83735,123
DPedro Valencia2,3981,895
DHector Morales158260
DDominique Michelle GarciaDid not file
DAugustine H. ReyesDid not file

U.S. House, District 32 (Democrat)

Seven Democrats are competing for a shot to take on U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas. Sessions also faces a challenger in his Republican primary.

CandidateAmount raisedCash on hand
DEd Meier$217,751$500,370
DColin Allred162,216127,638
DLillian Salerno161,454157,027
DBrett Shipp46,96926,191
DGeorge Rodriguez31,38423,274
DTodd Maternowski3,015-958
DRon Marshall0-20

Patrick Svitek contributed to this report.

Joseph Kopser has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Source: Federal Election Commission, ProPublica Campaign Finance API